Reader's Choice 2023 - First Love -Part 2 - Stories

Ian anxiously waits at the coffee shop for his secret boyfriend to arrive so they can plan their Valentine's Day together. Another cute boy walks into his life as he waits.

A refuge can be a place, or a person. Sometimes, it's both. Just like scars. We can carry them on the outside, or on the inside. Sometimes, it's both. Wiley Burch is a cowboy on the run. He never bargained for being someone's target, but it appears his luck has run out... or has it?

A lot can occur in a single day, and this day starts with Virgil Pruitt riding into a sad, struggling Texas town seven years after the end of the Mexican-American War. Sometimes it's not easy to be a good man, one who calls out unfair hate when he sees it, but Virgil doesn't always look for easy. Will he pay the price for being such a man, or will he be rewarded for standing up for young Wyatt Burnham?

Fifteen-year-old Tyler Webb doesn't come from a very accepting background, but his bisexuality has never caused him any problems. With no previous crushes on other boys, his secret seems safe and irrelevant. It all changes on an otherwise regular day at school. Can he deal with his newfound sexual attraction and the expectations of his family and friends?

CJ just celebrated his sixteenth birthday, received a Jeep as a present from his fathers, and is about to fly to Sydney to spend Christmas vacation in Australia. New characters appear who will play a pivotal part in his life.

A story about gay men of all ages.

Boone and Coy have built a damn good life in Larkspur, and feel on top of the world at being able to share such blessings with each other. The Old West has its challenges for men made like them, but everything is falling into place on their little piece of the frontier... until an unexpected visitor shows up out of the blue. Suddenly, their world is turned upside down as they struggle to help the troubled man.

Chase has had a tough couple of years, and just when he thought the clouds were lifting, he faces another ending, one that threatens to send him back to a dark place. Hank was his rock, his perfect partner and best friend, but in one short evening, Chase managed to screw everything up. How will he survive the loss… and the guilt?

Mike Berman, a swimmer, and Matt Broman, a wrestler, are college roommates. Mike is gay and Matt finds out. They live life and face the ups and downs and above all, they work things out.

Camp Refuge is where anyone can find their place. This is the story of its inception.

Donovan, a one time promising baseball star, enjoys his life and his close friends. After almost a decade of trying to forget his past, he's wrangled into joining a summer co-ed men's baseball league. That's when he meets Shane, a jerk with a great ass. They don't get off get off to a good start but will they be able to overcome their differences?